President Obama believes Russia is behind the cyber attack of the U.S. elections and as a result has launched a first strike against the Kremlin by expelling 35 Russian diplomats and imposing other sanctions against the foreign country.
Here’s what the president has done, according to NBC News:
Shutting down two compounds, one in in Maryland and one in New York, "used by Russian personnel for intelligence-related purposes."
Sanctions against the Russian intelligence services GRU and FSB, four high-ranking officers of the GRU, and three companies that allegedly provided support to the GRU's cyber operations.
Releasing technical information about Russian cyber activity, "to help network defenders in the United States and abroad identify, detect, and disrupt Russia's global campaign of malicious cyber activities."
“All Americans should be alarmed by Russia’s actions,” the president said in his announcement. “These data theft and disclosure activities could only have been directed by the highest levels of the Russian government. Moreover, our diplomats have experienced an unacceptable level of harassment in Moscow by Russian security services and police over the last year. Such activities have consequences.”
Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs ensured that any “hostile steps” taken by the U.S. “will be answered” and “any against Russian diplomatic missions in the U.S. will immediately bounce back on U.S. diplomats in Russia.”
The private e-mails of Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Convention were published to WikiLeaks in the lead up to November, revealing a wealth of corruption among its ranks. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has denied that his sources were of Russian origin. In a Twitter post just after Obama’s sanctions were announced on Thursday, WikiLeaks pointed out that the administration's briefing doesn’t mention WikiLeaks and has the following disclaimer:
“This report is provided ‘as is’ for informational purposes only. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) does not provide any warranties of any kind regarding any information contained within.”
Not very confident for an administration that just launched a Cold War-style shot.
Russia has denied any involvement in hacking the elections.
